Not The Greatest Team Ever
For those that watched the College Football National Championship, you will know that the game was an instant classic. For those that didn't watch....well, now ya know.
Previous to this game between second ranked Clemson and the top ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama there was chatter, as seems normal now, concerning whether history would be made and whether this coach or that player or this team are the best to play that game at this level.
Now, the fact that the Clemson Tigers knocked off the dynastic Tide halted all of these questions momentarily but there is a deeper foundational concern that I have in the asking of these questions or in the creation of these conversations.
Why is it that we are so concerned with seeing the "GOAT" or being a part of history?
To explain, let's take a look at a couple of questions regarding this game and a few other games of the past year. Two post-game questions dominated the pre-game narrative for National Championship game. Assuming Bama wins, is Nick Saban the greatest college football coach of all time and would this be the greatest one-season football team of all time?
In response to the first question, it is possible. With a win, Saban would have simply tied Bear Bryant for most titles...not surpassed him. In an article I read yesterday there was a quote (I believe from former coaching great Bobby Bowden though I can't find the reference) saying that we cannot even put Saban in the conversation for the best coach ever because he is not done coaching; he is not done winning. This isn't to say that when all is said and done he won't be in that conversation (because he will) but let him continue to coach let us continue to enjoy watching him until he is done...and then we make a decision.
The second question is one that should not take time to be answered. In fact, I don't think it can be answered. I don't believe that any team in a current format can ever be compared to teams under a previous format. Had the Tide won last night, there is no way to adequately compare it to the Bama teams of the 60s and 70s or the Miami teams of the late 80s or the USC of the early 2000s. It is a different team with a different coach in a different conference with different opponents in a different time. There are just too many variables.
To take a step back from last night, it is necessary to hone in on the real problem and that is not a college football issue but a human mind issue. To illustrate this there are a few questions that have been popping up lately. Is Tom Brady the greatest NFL QB ever? Is Lebron James the greatest basketball player ever? Were the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors the best NBA team ever?
We have an obsession.
Not with being the best but with seeing the best. We either believe that every game has progressed so much that our current time of play is better than every other past period or we are so muddled by entitlement that we believe that things that are done now should always be historic. To me it seems like a business ploy, a way to get viewers. And a standing ovation goes to the sports media world for exploiting our incessant need to to see history. It works. People watch. Networks get ratings. But is history really made? WHO CARES!
Is Lebron better than MJ? Maybe, but why does it matter. Lebron has a different style of play than His Airness so let's enjoy that. Is Tom Brady the greatest QB ever? I guess it is possible but how do you judge that...stats that requires other teammates? Were the GSW the best team ever? Well they did have more regular season wins...but does a win constitute a good team or just good shooters facing and era where teams just don't know what defense is.
In short, could we be witnessing history daily? Yes. But making history and breaking records isn't what sports is about. It is a tactic to get viewers that, I admit, I have fallen into before. My plea to you is to see beyond the cheap colored lights and the shallow and thoughtless "potential" storylines and see the beauty in the game. The orchestrated team effort to march down the field with less than two minutes to go to setup a 1-yard touchdown pass while leaving only one second on the clock. Revel in the clock management, the execution, the coach being brought to his knees in emotion at the end of an instant classic...all of these exhibited by Clemson last night. But really, who was talking about them before the game?
Previous to this game between second ranked Clemson and the top ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama there was chatter, as seems normal now, concerning whether history would be made and whether this coach or that player or this team are the best to play that game at this level.
Now, the fact that the Clemson Tigers knocked off the dynastic Tide halted all of these questions momentarily but there is a deeper foundational concern that I have in the asking of these questions or in the creation of these conversations.
Why is it that we are so concerned with seeing the "GOAT" or being a part of history?
To explain, let's take a look at a couple of questions regarding this game and a few other games of the past year. Two post-game questions dominated the pre-game narrative for National Championship game. Assuming Bama wins, is Nick Saban the greatest college football coach of all time and would this be the greatest one-season football team of all time?
In response to the first question, it is possible. With a win, Saban would have simply tied Bear Bryant for most titles...not surpassed him. In an article I read yesterday there was a quote (I believe from former coaching great Bobby Bowden though I can't find the reference) saying that we cannot even put Saban in the conversation for the best coach ever because he is not done coaching; he is not done winning. This isn't to say that when all is said and done he won't be in that conversation (because he will) but let him continue to coach let us continue to enjoy watching him until he is done...and then we make a decision.
The second question is one that should not take time to be answered. In fact, I don't think it can be answered. I don't believe that any team in a current format can ever be compared to teams under a previous format. Had the Tide won last night, there is no way to adequately compare it to the Bama teams of the 60s and 70s or the Miami teams of the late 80s or the USC of the early 2000s. It is a different team with a different coach in a different conference with different opponents in a different time. There are just too many variables.
To take a step back from last night, it is necessary to hone in on the real problem and that is not a college football issue but a human mind issue. To illustrate this there are a few questions that have been popping up lately. Is Tom Brady the greatest NFL QB ever? Is Lebron James the greatest basketball player ever? Were the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors the best NBA team ever?
We have an obsession.
Not with being the best but with seeing the best. We either believe that every game has progressed so much that our current time of play is better than every other past period or we are so muddled by entitlement that we believe that things that are done now should always be historic. To me it seems like a business ploy, a way to get viewers. And a standing ovation goes to the sports media world for exploiting our incessant need to to see history. It works. People watch. Networks get ratings. But is history really made? WHO CARES!
Is Lebron better than MJ? Maybe, but why does it matter. Lebron has a different style of play than His Airness so let's enjoy that. Is Tom Brady the greatest QB ever? I guess it is possible but how do you judge that...stats that requires other teammates? Were the GSW the best team ever? Well they did have more regular season wins...but does a win constitute a good team or just good shooters facing and era where teams just don't know what defense is.
In short, could we be witnessing history daily? Yes. But making history and breaking records isn't what sports is about. It is a tactic to get viewers that, I admit, I have fallen into before. My plea to you is to see beyond the cheap colored lights and the shallow and thoughtless "potential" storylines and see the beauty in the game. The orchestrated team effort to march down the field with less than two minutes to go to setup a 1-yard touchdown pass while leaving only one second on the clock. Revel in the clock management, the execution, the coach being brought to his knees in emotion at the end of an instant classic...all of these exhibited by Clemson last night. But really, who was talking about them before the game?
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